Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Earnest Graham looks like a leader at fullback

NFL - Buccaneers 27, Panthers 3

October 13, 2008|By David Whitley, Sentinel Staff Writer

TAMPA -- John McCain and Barack Obama blew it. If they really wanted to carry Florida, they should have chosen Earnest Graham as their running mate.

He ran with Warrick Dunn on Sunday and it resulted in a landslide of love.

"What he did today makes coaching worthwhile," Jon Gruden said.

"Earnest Graham is the ultimate football player," Jeff Garcia said.

"That was one of the most unselfish acts I've seen on a football field in a long time," Dunn said.

No, Graham didn't donate a kidney at midfield. But when the Bucs were desperate for a running boost, he volunteered to do a load of grunt work. In a league with plenty of T.O-type prima donnas, that might have been more remarkable than donating an organ.

The stats show Graham had five rushes for 11 yards and caught two passes for 47. What the numbers don't track is the blocks Graham threw to spring Dunn for 115 yards.

They usually alternate at tailback, but Graham played mostly fullback against Carolina. The usual starter, B.J. Askew, was out with a hamstring injury. His backup, Byron Storer, sprained a knee in the first quarter.

Gruden started scanning the bench looking for a tight end or somebody like that to fill in. "I'm your fullback," Graham told him.

He did have some job experience. Back when Graham was a free-agent nobody, he stuck on the roster by playing fullback, tailback, special-teams demon and handling Gruden's dry cleaning.

After five years he got a chance to run last year when injuries wiped out the backfield. Graham responded with 898 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 games.

That earned Graham a three-year, $10.5 million contract extension. How many tailbacks making that kind of money would voluntarily sacrifice their bodies clearing holes through defenses like Carolina's?

"I don't know," Graham said. "I just know I would."

Nobody was more impressed than Dunn, who had his most productive day since re-signing with the Bucs in the offseason. As gushy as Dunn was, Graham said the pleasure was all his.

"Growing up, all the kids in the neighborhood wanted to be Warrick, and now I'm blocking for him," Graham said. "I had a great time and this is something I will always remember."